When Worlds Collide
by riparian
Summary: (AU BMWW) Diana, heir to the throne of Themiscyra, has chosen to study at prestigious Gotham State abroad in order to round out her education before assuming duties of the crown. Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham to begin his journey to end crime in his hometown. How will their paths intersect? Read on to find out!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Lightning shook the sky, almost immediately followed by a boom of thunder. The rain poured down in torrential streams as Diana Prince weaved her way through the busy intersection, hopelessly holding a binder over her head in an futile effort to keep dry. If only she had remembered her umbrella! _Oh well_, she thought. _Just a little further until I make it into my classroom_. Diana shuffled through the crowd, muttering quiet "excuse mes" as she balanced her books and sighed in relief as she finally opened the door to the warm, dry classroom.

"Ms. Prince, you are late," a stern voice greeted her.

"Yes, sorry, Dr. Luitina," Diana responded, who quickly sat down and attempted to smooth out her clothes and manage her books. "This storm caused a crash on the highway, which delayed my bus here."

"Very well, Diana. Glad to see you made it here safely," Dr. Luitina said slightly more gently. "We were just about to discuss last night's reading about the functions of the brain. Would you like to start with your notes on the matter?"

Diana opened her folder, the familiar black and gold logo emblazoned on front reassuring her a little bit. _Gotham State University, est. 1898_.

"Gladly, Professor," she smiled.

_Elsewhere in Gotham…._

"Have you heard, Clay?" the man said to the other, in line at a coffee shop. "Wayne's back in town. Rumor has it he's planning to take reigns of the company again in the next few years."

The other man spluttered as he grabbed his coffee from the counter. "Phil, you idiot. Wayne? Wayne's been dead for, what, ten, twelve years now? Have you been drinking…" Clay's eyes widened in surprise as he processed what his friend was saying. "Why… you don't mean, Bruce? Last I heard he was boozing it up in Thailand and had no intentions of ever coming back to America, let alone Gotham."

"It's true! I saw some pictures of him clubbing at that place downtown, y'know, the Iceberg Lounge or whatever it's called. He was with St. Cloud's little girl, well, not so little now, if y'know what I mean… Silver's her name, I think. Right in the Gotham Gazette, too. Janie showed me the pictures during breakfast today."

"You don't say?" Clay sipped his coffee as he thought about that for a moment. "Hmm, well until I see a more legitimate source about his business aspirations, I'll leave him to party it up. God knows he deserves it."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," said Phil, picking up his own coffee from the barista. "Well, how about the Rogues last night, eh? Those Meteors didn't have a chance."

"You got that right. It's like they weren't even trying." The men continued their conversation, focusing on sports and the weather and soon all but forgetting the supposed arrival of one very important Gothamite.

A/N: I've been lurking on this site for a while and have really been enjoying reading great fics. Thought I would give writing a shot – here goes, a little teaser of what's to come! Please tell me what you think.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own.

**Chapter 2**

The sun had just started to peek out of the gloomy clouds when Diana made her way out of class. Despite the pale warmth the sun cast when it hit Diana's face, she tightened her coat around her as she carefully stepped to avoid the large puddles that had formed in the storm. The weather was one thing she particularly didn't enjoy about Gotham; Diana wistfully remembered the weather the day she had left Themyscira - sunny, warm, and mild, about average as any day of the year. _Themyscira_, she thought to herself. Though she had only been away from home for three months now, the word seemed a tiny bit more foreign to her now. Diana absentmindedly fiddled with the necklace she wore around her neck, the simple, yet elegant piece of jewelry showcasing a sun and connected smaller stars around it. Her mother gave it to her the day she left – _I love you, my little sun and stars_ – and Diana had worn it every day since.

That reminder, in addition to the dismal weather Gotham had been experiencing all week, made Diana suddenly wistful as she walked through campus. She idly thought of her beloved sisters, her beautiful horse, the view of the ocean from her window at home… and her heart ached. But she knew she made the choice to come here, specifically this city. And, upon further reflection, she was glad she did – her idyllic, yet tightly controlled life in Themyscira seemed almost dull in comparison to her life at university now. The things she had seen, the new foods she had tried, the friends she had made… Diana smiled, suddenly feeling a little bit less homesick. Speaking of friends…

"Etta!" she shouted, glimpsing her blonde friend across the quad. Etta turned toward the sound of her name, and her brilliant smile widened when she saw Diana.

"Diana, come here," Etta yelled back. Diana obliged and quickly met up with Etta, who was standing another girl. Diana smiled at Etta's dark-haired friend, whom she didn't recognize. "God, you look cute today. When I got to class after walking in the rain I looked like a drenched rat. Anyway, I was just about to grab lunch with this lovely lady. Care to join us?"

"Well, I…" Diana began. "Great!" Etta grinned, and Diana dismissed her plans of heading home early. She missed Etta, anyway.

Etta continued, "We're thinking about hitting up the café that just opened on 45th. Have you seen it? I think it's called Café Montalvo. I saw a line out the door the other day, I heard they have excellent chocolate croissants and you know how I _love_ chocolate croissants."

"I was there last Wednesday and their iced mochas are divine. You know, not too sweet, but not like too bitter like some coffee can be? And just the right amount of chocolate," the girl to Etta's left said. "I'm Zatanna, by the way," extending her hand to Diana. "Feel free to call me Z, though."

She was very pretty, Diana noticed, wearing a long stylish navy coat and sheer leggings that extended into black boots. "I'm Diana, so nice to meet you. What's this drink you were talking about? I don't ever think I've tried an iced mocha."

Both Etta and Zatanna's jaws dropped. Etta exclaimed, "Di, you haven't had an _iced mocha_ before? I know you're relatively new to the country and all, but come _on_. Let's get to Café Montalvo before the line gets long for the lunch rush."

Diana couldn't help but smile, thankful for old and new friends who were eager to help her experience all this old city had to offer. The trio set off towards the café, easily conversing with each other about the day.

* * *

><p><em>An hour later<em>… .

"Mmm," Diana sighed as she finished the remnants of her iced mocha. "That was heavenly." Her eyes roamed to the line at the front of the café, starting to die down a bit now that the lunch craze had subsided.

"Wasn't it?" Zatanna grinned. "I'm kind of thinking you want another one, yes?"

Diana blushed, embarrassed she had been caught staring at the line. She stood from her place at the table and stretched. "Hmm… another wouldn't hurt, would it? You ladies want me to pick anything else up for you while I'm in line?"

"I'm good, thanks. I actually have a class in fifteen, so I should head back to campus. Integral calculus. Ugh," Zatanna harrumphed, standing and collecting her things.

Diana winced at the sound of that. Diana loved learning, and was thrilled with the wide variety of courses that GSU had to offer, but math had unfortunately never been one of her strong suits. She much preferred her courses about international justice or women's studies.

Etta stood and stretched as well. "I'm going to head out too, organic chemistry is kicking my ass and I should probably go to a tutoring session. Gotta beat out all the other nerds who are pre-med."

Diana chuckled. "All right, all right. I guess I'll try not to miss you guys too much. In that case I'll just study and wait until the line is a bit shorter for my mocha."

"All right, Di," both girls chirruped. After byes and hugs were exchanged, Diana sat down and opened her three-inch thick book on international justice. Twenty minutes later, however, her attention had strayed because of how many people were coming in and out of the cafe. _Might as well people-watch_, giggling to herself at the term Etta had told her. Apparently in America it was socially acceptable to subtly watch people and make up their life stories. Diana smiled at the thought. Americans were strange indeed, but Diana figured if there was a place to people watch, it would be this café in Gotham.

An older man, tall but almost gangly, was in line. A worn Gotham Rogues cap covered his head, which did little to tame the look of his long, grayish hair and thick beard. He wore an oversized tan coat that seemed like it had seen better days, as well as a pair of sweats and dark boots. He carried a large tote bag that seemed to have all of his belongings. Diana started to wonder about his life story. _How did he end up here? What led to his homelessness? _Diana had known about income inequality in Gotham; in fact, it had been one of the reasons she decided to study here. _Does he have a family, a wife? What has he eaten today, if anything?_

She heard him ask for a cup of water. The fresh-faced barista at the counter nodded hesitantly initially but gave him a friendly smile and left the counter briefly to fulfill his request.

Another man entered the café, with a sort of leisurely confidence that caught Diana's attention. He was tall, even taller than the homeless man in line. In contrast to the other man, he was broad-shouldered, and wearing a large, black coat that seemed tailored to his frame. In fact, his entire outfit seemed well-tailored, though Diana couldn't credit the man with variety; the man's slacks and sharp-looking shoes were black as well. _When will Gothamites ever learn to dress with some color_, Diana idly wondered to herself. A much newer-looking Gotham Rogues cap covered a head of thick dark hair. His face was mostly obscured by a pair of large sunglasses and a light cover of stubble, though Diana could tell from his profile that he was probably reasonably handsome, judging by his strong nose and jaw.

The barista returned with a large cup of water, which the first man gratefully accepted and took a sip as he sat down at an empty table.

"Black coffee, dark roast, please," the well-dressed man now told the barista, in a surprisingly deep voice. Then, after a moment, he added, "Make that two coffees. And a ham and cheese sandwich." Diana stifled a giggle at his selection of coffee. She probably could have guessed the guy would buy not one, but two black coffees. He was probably some kind of caffeine-starved businessman who organized his checkbook for fun. Diana let out a small smile at the notion, finding it ridiculous how much effort Americans put in to make money.

"That'll be eight thirty-one, please," the barista at the counter said. Diana watched her prepare the coffees and sandwich. She thought she recognized the girl from one of her classes, but wasn't sure. _Megan, is it? Or Melanie? _Diana watched as the man give the barista a crisp twenty before taking the two coffees and sandwich and quickly turning to exit, leaving Megan or Melanie speechless for a moment with the unexpectedly large tip. "Thank you so much, sir," the barista excitedly yelled, but the businessman didn't hear or pretended not to.

He now tapped the man from earlier on the shoulder, who was just finishing his cup of water. "I noticed you were a Rogues fan," the businessman said while gently setting down the sandwich and coffee on the old man's table. "Couldn't pass up a chance to treat a man with good taste. Enjoy your day," he continued smoothly. The old man could only respond with a shocked _thank you_ before the businessman quickly made his way out of the café, not looking back.

Diana turned around fully in her chair now to watch him leave. The man walked further down the street before turning and disappearing from Diana's line of vision. Diana couldn't help but smile at the way the man had made two peoples' days, yet was confused by his brusque manner and why he didn't even stop to listen to the man or barista respond. He hadn't seemed in much of a hurry when he was waiting in line. _Perhaps he was in too much of a rush_, _getting back to his checkbooks, _Diana surmised. She smiled, intrigued by the small mystery, but soon forgot about it, opened her textbook and got back to work.

* * *

><p>AN:

One guess who the mysterious businessman is? :P

Now, an apology: I still can't think of a title for this, and yes, the "Untitled" aspect bothers me as much as it probably bothers you. Hoping for inspiration of the title to hit me before I publish the next chapter.

Thank you to all those that took time to leave a review – your words of encouragement are really great! And those who favorited or followed, or heck even viewed, I just wanted to let you know I really appreciate it as well. Please leave a review to let me know what you think so far; it really motivates me and gives me a sense of how I'm doing!


	3. Chapter 3

An incessant beeping cut at the periphery of Diana's sleep-filled consciousness. With a groan, she groped around the nightstand next to her bed for the source of the annoyance. Not bothering to open her eyes, she flipped open her phone and managed to croak into it, "Hello?"

"Diana? Where are you? I've been trying to call you for the last fifteen minutes. Our exam starts in ten minutes," the voice on the other end intoned.

_Oh, Hera!_ Diana's eyes shot open, frantically glancing at the clock. 8:19 AM. "Hera! I mean, Etta! I completely overslept. I'm on my way now. See you soon."

"Oh my god, Diana, are you going to make it on time? I doubt Professor Hull is going to let you in late, if at all past the exam start time."

But Etta found no response, as Diana had already hung up and was at the moment frantically pulling off her pajama tank, not bothering to change out of the long black sweat pants she had rolled into bed in. _Sweat pants, _she thought fleetingly, _one of Man's World's finest inventions. I need introduce my sisters at home to these._ She grabbed the first available clean shirt, a rather obnoxiously gold Gotham State tee, and haphazardly ran a toothbrush over her teeth. A minute later she downed the remnants of the mocha she had saved in the fridge.

_Hera, if only I had gone to bed at a normal time!_ She glanced at the open textbook on her desk, scoffing at her previous idea that she'd be able to get up early to study for the exam. On Themyscira she had risen naturally with the sun, eager to take advantage of the daylight and begin each day afresh. College certainly had changed that.

Diana glanced at the clock while working her hair into a loosely knotted braid. 8:25. She considered her options. She had four, maybe five minutes at most to make the twenty minute walk to campus from her apartment, and she had definitely missed the bus that usually came at 8:15. If she ran to campus, she'd arrive flustered and likely still a little too late. Diana sighed as she realized what she needed to do to maintain her grade. Grabbing her keys and rucksack and locking her apartment door behind her, she turned up the building stairwell and started jogging up. _If I go high and fast enough they won't be able to see me anyway_, she thought, as she prayed to Hermes for his stealth and swiftness. _There's that kind of wooded part of campus behind the Kane building that I can probably slip into if I'm quick enough, and no one would be there at this time of day. _

Now standing on the rooftop of her apartment building and taking a moment to gaze at the lovely view, she sent a last prayer to the gods and took off into the sky.

* * *

><p>It was a bright morning in Gotham, and dappled sunlight filtered through the leaves of the large tree in the center of Wayne Yard, one of the Gotham State campus' garden spaces. Beneath the tree's looming branches sat the son of the yard's benefactor, holding a steaming travel mug in one hand and a set of notes in the other.<p>

Bruce Wayne shifted as he adjusted his position against the trunk of the tree. There were several benches located throughout the garden that might have been more comfortable, but Bruce preferred to sit here. The spot allowed him a limited view of campus and passing people but also largely obstructed him from curious passerby, due to a large amount of blooming flowers and dense foliage all around. He glanced at the solid watch resting on his wrist - a gift from his father for when he was old enough. 8:28. He had a business class in just over two hours, but Bruce preferred to arrive to campus early to avoid the hustle and bustle of students rushing to class closer to mid-morning. He took a sip of hot black coffee from his mug and set it down on the grass next to him, puzzling at the sketch in his hand more intently. _How can I improve the power of the car without compromising on its weight? Jet engines? Maybe, _he smiled to himself, sketching out the necessary specifications.

An almost imperceptible shift of energy in the air reached his senses at that moment. _Someone else is here_, but he had not heard their footsteps through Wayne Yard's main brick pathway, the only entrance into the garden. The rest of the garden was surrounded by tall hedges to give the space a more intimate, enclosed feel. Bruce decided it was time to go anyway, and stood up to see which student was going to disturb his peace and quiet.

Gathering his things as he stretched to his full height, his muscles almost sighing in relief after he had sat for a long while, Bruce glanced in the direction of the main garden entrance - and his eyes met a pair of startled blue ones, almost the same shade of his own. He resisted the urge to drop his mug of coffee.

The eyes belonged to a woman, about the same age as him, wearing a bright gold GSU shirt. Wisps of her dark hair, arranged in a messy-looking braid behind her, framed her face attractively. She was tall, unusually so - taller than him, so it seemed, but as Bruce looked down towards her feet to assess her true height he really did drop his coffee mug.

The woman was completely suspended in mid-air - almost - flying?

But it only lasted a second, as the woman promptly dropped to the ground and took a step backwards, something dropping to the ground with a faint jingle behind her. She looked at Bruce's discarded mug on the ground and back into his eyes with those electric baby blues of hers. "Sorry - I - I've got to go," she stammered, and her gaze lingered on Bruce's face for just a moment more before she turned back towards the entrance and practically ran towards Kane Hall, not looking back behind her.

Bruce, who had remained silent during the entire exchange, struggled to process the thoughts that flew through his mind. He rubbed his eyes to be sure. Had she really been floating in the air, or had his morning caffeine not kicked in yet? He thought about the clarity with which he had studied his notes a few minutes before. No, he had seen what he had seen. But - how? He had studied Gotham's metas, or those cases admitted to psych wards that claimed to possess supernatural skills, but none matched her profile. None so … innocent, or at least as disheveled as the fresh-faced student who had stared back at him moments ago. And had he detected a slight accent in those few words she had spoken to him? He thought about following her into the building, but he knew that class had started by now and to find her would mean interrupting all the classes already in session.

Bruce crouched to pick up his travel mug from where it lay on the grass, the remainder of his hot coffee spilling onto the ground. He groaned for a moment, as he lacked a tissue to wipe the mug and his hands off. But something glinted in the sunlight that caught his attention. He took a step forward and picked it up in his hand - it was a set of keys.

* * *

><p>Diana's mind raced as she rushed up the stairs to her classroom on the second floor. <em>Had he seen her flying? Oh, Gods, why couldn't he have looked up a moment later?<em> But there was no time for that. At the moment, she had a test to take. She slipped into a desk just as the exams were starting to be passed out. She took a deep breath and scanned the room for her blonde friend, finding Etta similarly searching for her own presence. Upon seeing Diana in a chair, Etta lit up, her expression first of happiness and then confusion. But Diana gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile and averted her gaze to look down at her backpack and grab a pencil.

A thick exam booklet found its way onto her desk. She focused all of her energy and goddess-bestowed wisdom on focusing on the task immediately before her, and set to work, trying desperately not to think about the man in the park and why he looked vaguely familiar to her. An hour later of furious scribbling had worn both her pencil and mental energy reserves out, but Diana closed her booklet and let out a sigh of relief. She had made it and finished the exam. Making her way to the front of the classroom to turn her test in, she waved to Etta to let her know that she'd wait outside for her.

A few minutes later, Etta strolled out of the classroom with a few other students, rushing towards Diana in the hallway. "Di, what'd you think? I could not figure out the last problem for the life of me, but I wrote something down that I think isn't completely half-assed," Etta breathlessly rambled. She stopped. "Wait. How did you get here on time? When you picked up you sounded like me last Friday morning after Harvey's party," Etta chuckled, "Or, Snow White just after getting kissed awake by her prince."

"What?" _Who? _

"Nevermind, Di. It's a Disney thing. Remind me to show you sometime. Anyway, did you grab a cab here or something?" Etta smiled.

Recalling the events of the morning, Diana hesitated for just a moment before blithely responding, "Yes, I figured a few dollars was worth it. I can't believe I overslept like that!"

Etta, satisfied with that response, laughed and the conversation moved on. "Gosh, I was worried you wouldn't make it. Anyway, what's your schedule for the rest of the day?"

"I don't have class for another few hours, so I was going to head back to my apartment to make lunch and study a bit more, probably. Want to come over?"

Etta wrinkled her nose. "No offense, Di, but your apartment is kinda far - and does it even have room for me to camp out in there?" Diana laughed, not offended in the slightest. Her small apartment was fairly cramped; it served her needs fine, and certainly helped conceal the fact she was the sole heir to the crown of a tiny, ancient, prosperous island.

"You're probably right," Diana replied. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

Etta nodded in response and gave her friend a hug, the two girls parting ways. Diana dug around in her backpack side pocket for her keys, but found none, groaning in frustration. Where could she have left them?

Realization sank in as Diana recalled her slightly less than graceful landing and departure from the Yard. She briefly entertained the thought that her keys might still be sitting there, waiting in the lush grass to be picked up, but knew there was no way that man could have missed them. Would he have left them for her there, or picked them up?

Being in one of the larger buildings on campus, she elected to at least check the lost and found in the building's lobby. Perhaps the man in the yard, who had been so obviously amazed to see her floating mid-air, had simply left the keys at the desk and proceeded with his life, forgetting about the incident. But she knew she would probably wouldn't be that lucky.

"Hi, I'm looking for a set of keys on a green lanyard," Diana said to the skinny guy working at the front desk. "It might have been turned in about an hour ago?" The guy wordlessly rummaged through the lost and found drawer and, to Diana's amazement, produced exactly what she had been looking for: her set of apartment keys. Diana smiled broadly in excitement. "Thank you so very much," she said, feeling less anxious about the situation. She turned around.

A set of deep blue eyes met hers, belonging to none other than the man from the morning. Diana stopped in surprise and didn't say anything, just taking the time to look at him. He had dark, thick hair and was wearing a long-sleeved black sweater that clung to his broad shoulders and thick torso. His face, with his high cheekbones and defined jaw, conveyed not malicious intent but genuine curiosity. Diana realized in that instant he was the man from the cafe just a day earlier.

He noticed her surprise and quickly asked her in a surprisingly deep baritone, "Stop - please. I'm not after you. I just - may I ask you a few questions?"

Diana reeled in her surprise and replaced it with suspicion. She didn't know him, or if he could be trusted to keep a secret, or what she could even say to him about her flying. But she thought about his kindness to the man at the cafe, and reasoned that he couldn't be all bad.

She stepped towards him. "All right."

* * *

><p>AN: Whew! It's been a while! Thank you all for sticking with it, and a special shout out to the reviewer from just a few weeks ago who reminded me of this story.

So, they finally meet, kind of. More to come in the next chapter, which hopefully will come faster. I was suddenly struck with the inspiration for this not very plot-filled chapter, but wanted to write it all down and post it before I forget about it again (edits might come).

Reviews inspire me hugely and your support means a lot; I also appreciate your ideas and constructive criticism. For one, I've titled this story "When Worlds Collide," thanks to the suggestion of a reader, and I've also tried to make the chapters a little bit longer.

All right, that's it from me for now, looking forward to hearing from you! :)


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